Classes are run from an old, but rather beautiful Villa around Wakefield Quay in a polished residential kitchen. White subway tiles, stone and stainless steel combined with matai flooring create a refined and warm atmosphere.

The classes are for anyone and everyone. From home cooks to foodies and those whom have never set foot in a kitchen. We are not a culinary school for professional chefs. Rather, we are a place for guests to reacquaint themselves with the pleasures of eating and entertaining. Classes are recreational in a sense that we want the kitchen to become a place that is fun, full of enjoyment and well and truly free of fear. We use the classes as a platform to educate, as well as remind our guests how wonderful it is to prepare a meal from scratch and enjoy it in the company of others.

The classes run for three hours and are a mix of both interactive and observational cooking, followed by a seated, shared style meal at the long gathering table.

Guests will learn four recipes over the course of three hours, an entrée and three mains using the most seasonal produce straight from the market gardens of Nelson.

MISSION

It is our mission and of the utmost importance to us, the team at Madame Lu’s, that guests will view the class as an experience and not just your everyday restaurant style meal.

Our business is dedicated to the preparation of quality seasonal produce and our classes provide the platform for guests to learn all about the culinary delights that can be easily conjured up in your own home kitchen. We strive to make all classes relaxed, sociable and enjoyable for all those that attend.

OUR KITCHEN TEAM

ChelseaCreative Director

Chelsea has always loved immersing herself in the culinary delights that can be conjured up in the kitchen but it was whilst she was travelling through South East Asia that she discovered a newfound appreciation for food. Every dish she ate was fresh, simple wholefood that exuded incredible aromas, exquisite flavour combinations and had an abundance of health benefits. It then became apparent to Chelsea that our generations seem to have lost sight of how to fuel our bodies with a simple, wholefood approach.

Chelsea’s road to simple eating began soon after she returned to New Zealand when the eczema she had suffered from since she was a little girl seemed to become somewhat incurable with topical treatments. Chelsea adopted a new way of eating by eliminating highly processed foods and following more of a simple, wholefood approach to what she was placing in her body. It has been almost three years since she changed her diet and amazingly, her eczema has not resurfaced. The impact it has had on her life really is unexplainable.

After completing her degree in Hospitality Management. Chelsea decided to take her love of food and how it helped her, and develop it into a business idea alongside her sister Elora. In 2015, Madame Lu’s Kitchen was born. A place for people to reacquaint themselves with the kitchen and learn how to take their meals back to a simple, wholefood approach for their friends and family.

EloraMarketing Director

Living a life full of energy and adventure, Elora has always ensured her health allowed her to live the active lifestyle she loves. The diagnosis of a serious illness of a very close family member, prompted Elora’s endless research into the ability food could have to heal. Thus, Elora began her journey into the world of wholefoods and her pursuit for information on how and which foods truly feed the soul, nourish and heal the body. Elora went on to study Communications at Massey University, where she continued to discover the positive impact nutrition had on her wellbeing and the ability to cope with the long hours required for university study. This enlightening connection inspired her to join forces with Chelsea to create Madame Lu’s, a place to share and learn with others how to embrace a wholefoods lifestyle.

Madame Lu’s Kitchen is a place for people to reacquaint themselves with the pleasures of eating and entertaining. We offer interactive cooking classes for anyone and everyone. The home cooks, passionate foodies and those whom have never set foot in a kitchen.